Freelander Transmission Problems

Comments

First of all I am very sorry to hear that your daughter and son in law had to go through the same problems that a lot of us did as well. I was quoted 5k from both the Land Rover dealer and a private shop, but I shopped around and was able to get it done for $2500, which comes with a 1 year warranty. It was worth it to me, because I couldn't afford a new car, and the trade in would be so low if I tried to sell it with a bad trans. Because lawsuits take a very long time to go throuhg, I would suggest getting your name on one of their lists, but to also shop around for a mechanic who can do the job right and who won't over-charge you. I'm sorry to hear of your troubles! Best of Luck!

Thank you so much for your reply. We have looked around, and we did find a private shop where he would do it much cheaper, the problem is he can't even find a transmission for the 2002 Freelander apparently because they are ALL BAD!! I did speak with Land Rover today and they are checking to see if there is anything that they can do.I just hate seeing them throw money they don't have into a car that's won't run. Hopefully they will be able to get it fixed and get rid of it, but like others have said you hate to dump such a piece of junk on someone else. Actually if they could just get out from under what they owe that would be GREAT! Thanks again for the reply and I have e-mailed to get their names on the lawsuit list.

I'm sorry for not being more clear. I had my trans re-built by a private dealer. You have to shop around for someone who can re-build transmissions and see if you can get a good deal. I was quoted 8k for a new trans, and 5k for land rover to re-build mine. The private dealer re-built mine for 2,500. If you have any other questions please let me know, but I hope you are able to find someone to re-build it for a good price, because then they will be able to either get a few more years out of it, or buy another car using the Freelander as a trade-in and get a decent trade-in price.

I totally understand your concerns, and mine only has 60k miles on it and I am considering getting a new car with the longest warranty in history after this mess! Best of luck yet again!

I have a 2002 Freelander SE with 50K miles. Bought it used at 39K and was Land Rover Certified. Transmission has to be replaced (two months out of Land Rover Extended Warranty). Land Rover has not responded to my request for assistance, doubt they will.

Either I replace for $3800 or get $3500 (as is) for the vehicle and walk. I owe $7550 on it...QUESTION: I am tired of the vehicle, It is very clean...except for the transmission...should I repair...and what realistically can I get if I sell it at a CarMax or something? Black Book Wholesale is $8700. :confuse:

I've had my 03 hippo since it was new. Just over 50k miles now and have had very few problems. Had to take it in about a year ago when the check engine light came on and it started running rough. They replaced a couple spark plug coils or something and an intake motor. All under warranty. I did take it in for the 48k service and it checked out fine. I've read all the horror stories about the 02's. I see a lot about brakes wearing prematurely. I just changed the front discs on mine myself at about 48k and the rear shoes still don't need changed yet. I definitely don't drive like an old lady but not like everything is a LeMans either. Of course I'm a little more concerned now that my warranty is gone but it seems most of the things I've read are about the 02's. Were there any changes made that would make the 03 any better? It's been good to me so far but I'm about due for a set of tires so I'm wondering if I should just get rid of it before that. :shades:

Hello. I also have an 02 Freelander, and mine has 63k miles on it right now. I bought mine at 49k, which was only a month out of its extended warranty.

About 6 weeks ago I had to replace the transmission and it cost me $2500. I must say that I debated what to do for about 2 weeks, and it ended up being worth it for me because I wanted to keep the car for another couple of years. If I were you and you are sure you don't want this car anymore, I would repair the trans and sell it privately, because you could probably get 9-10k max for it, making it a little more worth it. I know this is very hard, and I am sure it must be difficult to accept getting $3500 as is and walk away.

But, I would probably repair it and sell it privately, or try to find someone to repair it for less than $3800. I found someone to do it for $2500 and it drives very nicely now!!

Well, I got the truck fixed for about $3700. Rebuilt land Rover Trans with one year warranty. They drove over to the Acura dealer and traded it in.

Land Rover would not assist after being out of warranty 2 months and certified used by Land Rover about 10K miles ago. While Land Rover did not have to do anything, I thought they would since I had a 2008 Sport Supercharge on order before it went bad. Canceled order, say goodbye to Range Rover.

I have 55k on my 02 freelander and I am thinking the trans is bad as well. Here is the deal. Mine shift perfect 1 to 2nd, but then slips to nothing in 3rd. Reverse is fine and 1 and 2nd fine. When going into 3rd, nothing and RPM go up.

Does anyone know if this is can be fixed with the 2/4 solinods talked about above?

Greetings All !!!Have 03 Freelander with 80K, original trans with no issues, took to Dealer to do a routine transmission fluid flush.Dealer informed me trans computer corrupt, need new computer@ $1300. Puzzling as trans was working fine, installed newcomputer, 300 miles later transmission needs replaced. Slipping between shifts !! Anyone with similar problemor suggestions !?!?!?Thanks...Bob

I am sorry to hear about your transmission problem. I want to start by saying I can totally relate to you and I understand your frustration with the Freelander and with Land Rover.

I was never told that I had a problem with my trans computer, but at around 50k miles my transmission was seriously slipping between shifts. I had it checked by 2 Land Rover dealers, an import trans specialist and a private auto shop. The best deal I came up with was to have a private trans specialist rebuild it for $2500, which was a good deal for me at this time. All of the other places were going to charge over 5k for the job, which wouldn't have been worth it since it's a 2002 Freelander.

My suggestion is to try to have your trans rebuilt for as little of a cost as you can. In terms of keeping it or selling it, this is a personal choice. My original plan was to immediately resell after it was fixed, but it drives wonderfully right now, so I decided to keep it for the time being. I hope this helps you and I again am very sorry to hear of your problem! Let me know if you have any other questions. Take care & good luck!!

I got the trans fixed for about $3500...drove it over to an Acura dealer and kissed it goodbye. The people who bought it already had both the Passenger side window regulators go bad.

I called Land Rover since it was 2 months vehicle went out of warranty as well as 10K mile since it was certified my Land Rover. The dealer spoke with Land Rover and discussed them picking part of the trans up as I was planning to purchase a Range Rover Sport. Land Rover did not even look into it past the call they have to do to the dealer.

Well, say goodbye to Rover. My life is easier and better without them.

OOPS !!! I forgot to mention the most important part of this mess !!! When I took Freelander to dealer for transmission fluid change, they refused, advising me it was not required by Landrover, instead they hit me for the computer !!!

Good news to everyone! I have a lawyer that has begun researching and is going to help us as much as he can! If you have not already been added to my email, please send me an email at landrover_lawsuit@hotmail.comIf you have already contacted me, then you have an email from me with the lawyers contact info and next steps. Thank you to everyone for your patience, I know this has been painful for many!!!!Bridget

***Be Advised if you copy and paste the @ sign is transposed and you have to replace it again. ; )

I have a 2003 Freelander with a bad transmission. Land Rover and Dealer unwilling to help !! This week I willbe filing suit against Land Rover and the Dealer. Willkeep this forum posted with results !!Bob

Bridget is right. Join the class action. The 02 and 03 LR Freelanders seem to have been put together by morons using parts made by retarded cockroaches. Just read the other discussion strings - engines, transmissions, drive trains - these vehicles are a nightmare. We all paid LR a lot of money for these vehicles and most of us are paying a lot to have serious problems fixed. If you're in the US, file a complaint with the national highway traffic safety administration at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/. If enough people complain, they'll investigate and hopefully recall these buckets of bolts.

You are so right. I actually had bought an extended warranty on this truck (Thank God). I have 87K mles and just replaced the whole engine because the water resevoir in the engine busted. The repair is $10,000. Of which, the dealership is trying to get me to pay $3,000. They claim that is took 41 hours!!! to repair the engine. NO WAY!

I have also had a sensor shut down the whole engine last summer while driving down the road at 70 miles an hour. Thankfully we were able to pull of the road safely. But what if the next person is not able to do that???

I have a Freelander 2002, HSE which according to a few sources it seems might need new transmission. Where do I post a car with transmission problem to be sold "AS IS". The car is in Northern California, it it HSE and has only 66k miles, and it is beautiful we did add ons to the front and step sides, etc.

My transmission went out on me the other day - no warning, nothing, just suddenly lost the ability to accelerate while on the freeway. I have only 48K miles on it, but I'm out of warranty at this point. I've had no problems with the car until this event. I've been quoted $5,700 to fix it and no help from Land Rover to date. I've really enjoyed my car and as I mentioned, never had any problems with it until now. I appreciate hearing that I'm not the only one to have a bad transmission and I will be taking the advice of other posters as I deal with the LR company. Thanks for sharing the info! If I find anything out myself, I'll post it here.

I had the same problem as you - a little more milage on it but all of a sudden it would accelerate....and Land Rover said I needed a new transmission and quoted me $5,075 for it - I was shocked. I did some research and found out that a lot of the freelanders have a transmission problem but that it can be fixed for roughly 600 to 800 dollars. Land Rover doesnt "fix" transmissions, they only replace them - so that is why they quote you such a high price - conveinent for them, right? I took it to a transmission repair shop/car repair shop - ask them to check out the solonoids (esp. if your car is flashing a f4) and they can fix it for you in a couple of days. I had my car fixed about 9 months ago and it is running perfectly, like it was when I first bought it. And my final cost - 760 dollars.

78,000 miles.I had to have a brand new transmission. When I braked it felt like the engine shifted forward and it made this clunking noise.The dealership asked if I had ever driven a 4-wheel drive and when I said no, they said, that noise and feel just comes with the territory of 4-wheel drive vehicles.Amazing, after the new transmission, it no longer does this.They kept my car a week...to change the oil.

Here is my history so far:Water pump failed, took to dealer for replacement, Gas Pump failed took it to Shop to replace it, Gas tank lid failed, bouth one from dealer to replace it, engine cooling system failed, transmition failed, took it to shop they refuse to fix, they say is not their fault and is not cover by warranty anymore, Window motor failed, winshield wiper swicth failed, headlights failed, Coolant container crack, replaced with new one from dealer. stop light recalled. air filtering system retains water wich allows mold to grow, air filters replaced.

Im only at 80K miles, i'm trying to sell it so bad! I spend about $4,000 on repairs and the clang noise from the engine sounds like another $5,000 coming.

this is the worst nightmare I ever had. I still owe 16,000 to the bank Ouch!

I have an '02 Freelander with 45,000 miles. The transmission was replaced under warranty in November 05(under warranty which expired 2006) and needs to be replaced once again , and as of today it went out again ..............

I know this isn't a lot of comfort but here's some interesting info about the FL transmission failures. It has been discovered by some mechanically inclined folks that most of the failures when the dealership says you need a new transmission is really just a failed solenoid in the transmission pan. Something that can be fixed with a $50 part and a few hours of labor. Land Rover undoubtedly produced and sold us a poorly designed drive train and should be held accountable, but for those that experience this problem should look into this before shelling out the $1000's the dealership wants to replace the whole tranny. My 03SE has 54,000 miles on it and I've had very few problems really but after trying to trade it in a couple places it's obvious these issues are well known. Both places I've taken it they say after they drive it "well it feels like there's some transmission problem" and give me some rediculous trade in price. It's in excellent condition and I've been offered $4,000 and $4,700 for trade in (I still owe $4,500 on it). I've been driving it since it was new and it drives the same as it did when I bought it. I've learned a lot about these little trucks and know what to keep an eye on now. The coolant reservoir should be a recall. If you haven't replaced it I suggest you do so. Lift the label around the cap and see if it's got spider cracks. It's a pressurized coolant system and when those cracks get bad enough it loses pressure and (I believe) is the main cause of most of the "losing coolant/engine failure" problems. Also the temperature sensor is in an assanine place, after the radiator not the engine. By the time the temperature gauge goes up it's too late. The engine has already overheated. Hopefully I can avoid the major problems until it's paid off and then still take a beating trading it in. (On a Honda or Toyota!) It still sucks to have been sold an inferior vehicle but I'm trying to make the best of a bad situation It's just a shame because it's a great driving vehicle. Here is a link to read more about the tranny solenoids and other problems:http://www.muddyoval.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6568&highlight=transmission+solen- oid